Perry matched the Colonial record with a 9-under 61 in the third round Saturday. He was at 17 under and led by eight strokes  the largest lead after 54 holes on the tour this season.

On target from the start, Perry birdied his first three holes and then made three straight birdies to end his front nine. With three more birdies on the back nine, he finished his best round in 17 years on the PGA Tour.

Kenny Perry reacts to missing an eagle putt on the first hole of Saturday's third round of the Colonial in Fort Worth. Perry didn't miss much; he shot 61 and leads the tournament by 8 strokes.

--Associated Press

"I can't remember holding it together that many holes in a row consecutively," Perry said. "I've had stretches of six, seven, eight holes pretty good. But I don't remember having this many."

Perry was also the leader after the second round, but his 64 Friday was basically a footnote with Sorenstam wrapping up her historic appearance on the PGA Tour.

"They have never paid attention to me anyway, so it doesn't matter to me," Perry said.

Still, the media workroom with more than 200 work spaces was only about half-full Saturday. A couple dozen media attended his post-round news conference in the same room that was filled with more than 300 people the previous three days for Sorenstam.

There was a more-traditional feel around Colonial a day after Sorenstam finished her historic appearance as the first woman in 58 years to play on the PGA Tour. She missed the cut by four strokes at 5 over.

Thousands of spectators were still on the course, as would be normal for a weekend round. But they were spread throughout the 7,080-yard layout, and not crammed 10 to 12 deep along the ropes and following Sorenstam for every hole.

"It was completely different," said Dean Wilson, who was at 3 under and played with Sorenstam the first two rounds. "There was not as much of a gallery, and not as much excitement in the air. It's kind of what I'm used to. A lot of people were asking me where my gallery went."

When Wilson went to the 10th hole, the same place where Sorenstam started her PGA Tour experiment Thursday, less than 50 people surrounded the tee box. Only a handful of those followed after Wilson and Dallas resident Harrison Frazar hit their shots.

Rory Sabbatini was the closest to Perry at 9 under after his third-round 67 that started with an eagle. Jim Furyk (69) was nine strokes back.

Champions Columbus

COLUMBUS, Ga.  Jim Thorpe shot a 6-under-par 64 and Morris Hatalsky had a 65 to share the second-round lead in the Champions Tour's Columbus Southern Open.

"It's been a long time since I've been in this position, so I'm going to cherish the moment for a while," said Thorpe, a five-time winner on the 50-and-over tour.

Hatalsky is seeking his second senior victory.

"It's two solid rounds for me," he said. "I'm feeling good about the way I'm swinging the golf club lately."

Matthew shot a 5-under 67, rallying with a birdie at No. 17 after consecutive three-putt bogeys to take a two-stroke lead over Lorie Kane into the final round of the LPGA Corning Classic.

Matthew, who started the day tied with Kane at 12 under, was at 17-under 199 and easily within reach of the tournament record of 20-under 268 set in 1998 by Tammie Green.

Kane was alone in second after a 69. Meg Mallon and Hall of Famers Juli Inkster and Beth Daniel were another shot back at 202. Helen Alfredsson was alone at 203, Wendy Ward and Soo Yun Kang were tied at 204, and two-time Corning champ Rosie Jones was at 205.

European PGA Volvo

VIRGINIA WATER, England  South Africa's Trevor Immelman closed with three straight birdies in a round of 8-under-par 64 and held a two-shot lead after three rounds of the Volvo PGA Championship.

Immelman was at 14-under 202, two strokes ahead of Sweden's Niclas Fasth, who shot a 4-under 68.